Close shave for agitators on tracks as train comes running

A group of agitators in Bihar had a narrow escape on Wednesday when a train started moving from Bihta railway station towards them even as they were still squatting on the track, around 50 metres away towards the eastern (Patna) side, eyewitnesses said.

A purported video clip of the incident shows a man lying flat on the track, frozen, underneath a running train, which screeches to a halt shortly after. The man, apparently unscathed, is then pulled out by a few people, who can be heard shouting expletives.

HT has not been able to verify the authenticity of the video.

“Railway officials have started a probe about the sudden train movement on the track where the agitation was going on,” said Prashant Kumar, deputy superintendent of police (rail), who visited the spot after the incident along with other senior railways and police officials.

Around 50 agitators, led by one Rajendra Yadav, had blocked the tracks and disrupted rail movement between 1pm and 5 pm near Bihta railway station, demanding speedy work on Bihta-Aurangabad new line, a stretch of about 120 kilometres for which the Railway Board has already sanctioned ₹87 crore in the first phase.

The project has been lying idle for a long time. “People in the area have been waiting for the past one decade for its execution,” Yadav said.

Ajay Kumar, another leader of the agitation, said they were staging the protest near the railway station after informing railway and district authorities, but the station master gave green signal for a special train, which then started from the station for his onward destination. “When the train arrived near us, we ran helter-skelter for safety. Some of us saved our lives by quickly lying flat on the track while the train ran for some distance before screeching to a halt as the loco pilot slammed emergency brakes,” Kumar said.

The station master was not immediately available for comment.

Infuriated over the incident, agitators later blocked the main line, demanding action against those responsible.

After being informed, senior railway and district officials rushed to the spot to pacify the agitators.

Meanwhile, hundreds of commuters were stranded at various railway stations on the busy Howrah-Patna-New Delhi main line after agitators blocked the tracks. More than 10 train services were affected, railway officials said.